A Blog on Healthcare from an Indian perspective

Month: January 2013

Well, to someone who has dealt with cancer either as a patient or a caregiver, the very idea of marketing a cancer service is appalling, even grotesque. Cancer is often looked upon as the ultimate misfortune, a death sentence if ever there was one and juxtaposing a ‘commercial’ term like marketing with it sounds revolting. Yet, we know that in India there are cancer hospitals aplenty, many of them with great expertise and technology at their disposal, but sadly not many effectively engage with their patients beyond the mandatory sessions of chemo or radiation therapy.

Yet, I believe good cancer centres, need to have an effective engagement program with cancer patients and the care-givers. More than anything else, they need to connect with patients and help them understand their disease better, engage with them as partners in the fight that lies ahead and inspire them to beat the great odds stacked against them. They also need to connect with the care-givers, help lighten their burden of fear and doom at the likely loss of a near and a dear one. Most of all, cancer centres need to give hope and courage to both the patients and care-givers in a world suddenly drained of light and good health.

A good cancer service should aim to constantly engage with its local community. It should help educate about the preventive aspects of the disease. Many oral cancers are completely preventable. Shunning tobacco, eliminates cancer – a simple message if communicated effectively can prevent almost all oral cancers. Extended exposure to known carcinogens such as pesticides, heavy metals or radiation also causes cancers. Avoiding these by taking sensible precautions can help reduce the incidence of cancer.Similarly, the chances of having cervical cancer can be significantly reduced by early vaccination against the disease.

Yet, I have not come across many hospitals running effective mass campaigns against tobacco use or creating awareness about cervical cancer vaccinations. I believe, in the fight against cancer, that is an opportunity wasted.

There are of course, cancers, which have nothing to do with lifestyle factors. They can hit unexpectedly (like the Germ Cell Carcinoma, that ravaged Yuvraj Singh) and there is little one can do to prevent them. However, in our arsenal are now medicines that can effectively combat these deadly cancers, if only we could diagnose and treat them early. Fortunately, we now also have advanced scanners that can detect tumours the size of a few cells, and raise a red flag. Yet, not many cancer services talk about early detection and encourage people to go for regular testing. A good cancer service must connect with the local community and relentlessly drive home the point that a cancer can be beaten by detecting it early.

The cancer service must also understand the fear that the word cancer causes in a person. Many people have an irrational fear of getting themselves screened for cancers. Good cancer services should develop engagement programs, which gently nudge people to shed their fear of the unknown and go for these screenings.

Fighting cancer requires true courage, uncommon grit and determination. The treatment regimen is often debilitating and painful. More than the physical pain, the sheer magnitude of the struggle against a deadly foe, with unknown odds is often difficult to bear. Cancer patients undergoing therapy, need hope and courage to overcome the disease. A good cancer service must realize that even if the disease succeeds in breaking a man, it must not be allowed to break his spirits. A cancer service, which offers hope and a steady hand is the one, which will connect with cancer patients the best.

Cancer Hospitals owe it to themselves as well as their local communities to constantly engage with each other and fight cancer. At Fortis Hospitals in Mumbai, we have for the last couple of months been doing exactly that. The hospitals recently completely a very successful campaign on cervical cancer screenings called ”Teal to Heal” (http://www.fortishealthcare.com/india/Teal_to_Heal.php), are presently running a cancer campaign, which features cancer survivors, sharing their inspiring stories of early struggle and success in beating back cancer. The stories are true and full of hope. The next phase of the campaign, will take up the fight against tobacco.

I do wish, there were more hospitals joining the fight against cancer by engaging their local communities. We can only win, if we fight together.